UK - Office rentals specialist Halkin recently opened new premises on King William Street, in the heart of the City of London’s financial district. Distributed across four floors, the workspace required an extensive AV system that would fit the brand’s technology standard and enable collaboration and ease of use for clients. London-based AV and IT specialists, Tateside led the integration of a complete AV system across a total of eight meeting rooms.
“We have worked with Halkin on several workspaces over the past couple of years,” reveals Jack Cornish, technical director at Tateside. “We started out collaborating on smaller jobs such as upgrades of existing meeting rooms. The complete integration of the new office spaces at King William Street is our largest project with Halkin.”
Halkin has established a technological standard across all their sites, based on Neat brand meeting room solutions. “Halkin is a Zoom-room user, utilising Neat technology including Neat Bars, Neat Boards and Neat Centers, across all their sites,” continues Cornish. “In collaboration with the team at Halkin, the project focused on using high-quality products and ‘doing meeting room technology properly’, without cutting corners and to the same standard across all their spaces.”
Tateside was involved in the project from the early stages, working with the initial room designs and client requirements. With Halkin’s aspiration to provide a premium meeting and collaboration experience, Tateside designed a solution that would ensure a user-friendly experience. Smooth connectivity and automation would streamline collaboration in communal meeting spaces for all users, even those with zero experience in setting up hybrid meeting spaces. Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) capabilities were another key requirement.
Providing a complete meeting and collaboration package within one device, Neat Boards were integrated into almost all of the meeting rooms. Each Neat board comprises a 65-inch multi-touch screen, a built-in audio system and a wide-angle camera, taking care of the audio-visual needs of a modern meeting space within a single solution. The addition of a Neat Pad in each room allows for seamless control of the Neat Board display. In several rooms, an additional Neat Bar is also installed, providing further options and versatility for users.
Empowering BYOD capability, Tateside deployed four USB-C powered Taurus UCX universal switchers from Lightware. “Taurus UCX offers something unique, with good built-in control and automation available, as well as the physical UI of the two USB-C inputs allowing for plug-and-play functionality, the latter being the key point we needed to achieve,” explains Cornish. “Through harnessing USB-C connectivity, Halkin’s clients can effortlessly connect their devices and enjoy a streamlined and efficient meeting experience with easy host-switching.”
An exception to the Neat standard can be seen in the 24-delegate boardroom space. In this larger space, immersive visuals are provided through the integration of two 75-inch 4k Samsung displays and an 85-inch Samsung Flip 3 collaboration screen, allowing participants to actively interact with content via the touchscreen. For discreet yet effective audio coverage, eight Bose DM5C loudspeakers are deployed, whilst two Shure ceiling array microphones ensure delegates throughout the room can be heard clearly.
Three Yealink PTZ cameras, including one tracking model, ensure a high-quality hybrid meeting experience and excellent visual pick-up. User control is made simple and efficient through the integration of a Yealink MCore kit mini-PC and touchscreen, whilst device switching and network connectivity in the boardroom are handled by Blustream transmitters and receivers.
In addition to meeting room solutions, Tateside also integrated digital signage and a background audio system on all four floors at King William Street. Bose DesignMax DM5C in-ceiling loudspeakers were chosen for their audio quality and were custom-sprayed, allowing for seamless integration with the décor of the office space. For digital signage in the reception area and throughout, Samsung Frame 4K HDR Smart TVs provide functionality in a design-led format. Some bespoke elements were also incorporated, such as custom brass finishes on Kramer Cable Cubby units.
